July 23, 2005
Vacation (part 1: LV-Bryce Canyon)
We arrived in Las Vegas on Saturday morning, after catching a very early flight. We took the kids to the pool to bask in the intense heat and listen to a band play '80s "hits" (and listen to the kids play "Who is this? Did you like this one?") In the evening, we hit the strip to see the shiny things. The Treasure Island pirate show has been updated since I'd last seen it: it's gone from G to PG-13... More story and lots of pictures in the extended entry...
We wound up staying out pretty late (really late on East Coast time) so the following day was pretty much wasted as we slept in, hit the pool a bit and didn't do much at all. Monday we piled in the Toyota renta-SUV (drives like a van, with less seating room) and made a quick stop at a big box store to get a cheap-o styrofoam cooler and a couple of cases of water and Gatorade, and some boxes of sugar bombs cereal. We set out north through the desert. We got our first taste of really cool goeology as we hit the Virgin River gap in Arizona -- about a dozen miles of winding uphill road with towering rocks on either side.
We stopped for some fantastic Mexican food in St. George, Utah (it's in Ancestor Square, name TBD) then pressed on toward Bryce Canyon, generally following the Virgin River. Driving through Dixie National Forest, we stopped to look at a very intensely colored blue-green lake.
holding water trapped by lava. Another traveller told us about a waterfall where the lake empties, and we set off to find it. A couple of miles up a dirt road (next to the lava flow, so Sean got pictures) and a 20 minute hike brought us to the falls.
... Katie and Mary Ellen (that's them) hike toward the falls.
Just a few miles from Bryce is the Red Canyon, where we piled out and took pictures of the very red rock formations, and splashed in the river.
Katie wanted a "rabbit ears" shot.
After checking in at Ruby's Inn and having a surprisingly good meal, we got ready for a couple of days in Bryce Canyon.
Pictures posted by Kelly at July 23, 2005 05:40 PM